Planning a Trip

Getting There

RENFE runs trains from Barcelona-Sants to Sitges; the 30-minute trip costs 3.50€. Call tel. 93-490-02-02 in Barcelona (www.renfe.es) for information about schedules. Four trains leave Barcelona per hour.

Sitges is a 45-minute drive from Barcelona along the C-246, a coastal road. An express highway, the A-7, opened in 1991. The coastal road is more scenic, but it can be extremely slow on weekends because of the heavy traffic, as all of Barcelona seemingly heads for the beaches.

Visitor Information

The tourist office is at Carrer Sinea Morera 1 (tel. 93-894-50-04; www.sitges.com). From July to September 15, it's open daily 9am to 8pm; September 16 to June, hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 2pm and 4 to 6:30pm.

Special Events

The Carnaval at Sitges is one of the outstanding events on the Catalan calendar. For more than a century, the town has celebrated the days before the beginning of Lent. Fancy dress, floats, feathered outfits, and sequins all make this an exciting event. The party begins on the Thursday before Lent with the arrival of the king of the Carnestoltes and ends on Ash Wednesday with the "Burial of a Sardine." Activities reach their jubilant best on Sant Bonaventura, where gays and lesbians hold their own celebrations.